When the darkness returned, there was nothing left to greet it. After all, everyone thought it was dead: killed by the hero of a nation, smothered to death by an unwelcome call. No one ever thought that it would return. No one even thought that it could.

But it wasn't dead, and it was very much back. And this time, it had a different goal. This time, it would take the region, and there would be no one poised to stop it.
"Archer, honestly. I was on vacation. We've already done this neo-Team Rocket thing, and Giovanni didn't come back. What's the point of trying again?" Ariana stalked into the room, flanked by two guards. She cross her arms and looked at her superior with an eyebrow raised.

Archer smiled and turned, dropping a single pokéball onto his desk.

"My dear Ariana. Please reconsider your words. I am not seeking to call Giovanni back. No, his leadership failed, and he turned out to be a traitor to his cause by not responding to our call. This time, I will lead Team Rocket, and we will succeed under my leadership. It is time to revitalize the name that used to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who heard it!" Archer's face broke into a maniacal smile. "But I cannot do this alone. I need executives. I have called Petrol and Proton as well. We will rise up and become the face of Kanto!"

Ariana sneered at him. "Last time you were our senior, you failed us just as Giovanni failed. I don't see why we should trust you again."

Archer pursed his lips. He had known that Ariana would be hard to persuade, but he had pushed it to the back of his mind and ignored it, hoping that she would be easy to sway. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and Archer would have to resort to force to get her to join his cause. "My poor Ariana, why do you doubt me?" Behind his back, he released the pokéball that he had deposited on the desk a moment ago. Silently, his hypno burst into appearance and immediately started waving his hypnotist's pendulum in front of Ariana. "Follow me unwaveringly, and you will be able to take a never ending vacation. Help Team Rocket once more, and I will ensure that all of your dreams are accomplished."

Ariana's blank face stared past him. "I will...follow Team Rocket," she said after a minute of staring at the pendulum.

Archer smiled, and waved his hand at the guards at the door. They walked forward and half-led, half-carried Ariana out of the door, Hypno following behind them with his swinging pendulum.

Archer smiled once more. Now it was time to take Team Rocket to a whole new level.


It was the smell of bacon and eggs cooking that woke Lyra. She turned over, moaning softly at the bright sunlight that filtered through her blinds. She had told her parents that they needed to fix the shades, since she often woke up at sunrise when the sudden burst of light came crashing through the window.

But it was no matter. She was leaving today and there wasn't going to be another night in her life that she slept in this house and called it home.

Lyra threw the covers off and got dressed. She pulled on her long socks and situated her hat on her head, making sure that the red ribbon was tied around it neatly. She opened the door and ran down the stairs, stumbling a bit on the last step in her excitement. The girl walked quickly through the hallway and burst into the kitchen.
Her mother smiled at her as she flipped the eggs. "Morning Lyra! There's a plate on the table set out for you. The bacon is already out, and the eggs are almost done."
Lyra smiled and rubbed her bleary eyes, going to the table and plopping down in a seat. She was most definitely NOT a morning person.

As she dug into the bacon and eggs, she thought about which starter she was going to pick. Of course, she already had two pokémon; most everyone did, even before they officially started their journey. In Lyra's case, she had a whimsicott and a litwick. Lyra's favorite region was Unova. She loved the idea of a whole region that was run by technology. She heard that in Unova, they have such advanced technology that you could do almost anything you wish. That was why she asked for a litwick for her birthday. She had befriended the cottonee that she eventually evolved into a whimsicott on a family vacation. She had begged and begged her parents to go to Undella Town in Unova for their summer vacation. Eventually, they agreed. And the vacation itself was very nice. But the real reason that Lyra wanted to go to Unova was to catch a Unova pokémon.

After she had finished with her food, she picked up her pre-packed bag and slung it over her shoulders.

The excited girl turned to say goodbye to her mom, and found her crying at the sink.

"Mom, what's the matter?" she asked worriedly.

Her mother just shook her head. "It's just that you're an only child and...oh Lyra, I'm going to miss you!"

Lyra sighed. "Mom, it's not like I'm never coming back. As soon as I find Fly, I'll visit every other time I get a badge. Don't worry, mom, really, it'll be okay."

Her mom pulled Lyra into a hug. "Oh, I know honey, I know. I'm just happy seeing that you're all grown up now, that's all. I'm sorry, I know you don't like it when I cry."

It was true. Lyra didn't really like it when her parents cried; it embarrassed her. Weren't the parent figures supposed to be the strong ones, not the other way around? It was normally Lyra who was the shoulder to cry on, and not the other way around. That didn't bother her. She was used to it, and besides, they were there for her when she needed them, so why couldn't it go the other way?

As she pulled away from her mom, she re-situated her bag on her shoulder and smiled nervously at her mother. "Well, I guess I'm off," Lyra announced.

Her mother nodded, and opened the door for her, obviously holding back tears. "Bye Lyra! I'll miss you! Have a wonderful journey!" she called after her daughter. As the sun rose over New Bark Town, Lyra set off toward the Pokémon Lab, unsure of what was to come. Winds of change were blowing, but the roots she had planted at home would never be swayed.


"Litwick! Lit, lit!"

Lyra smiled as her litwick bounced along the path in midair. She had taken it to the Pokémon Lab that was run by Professor Elm and had it tested. It was a Jolly nature and Lyra could definitely see it in her.

"Hey Litwick, wait up!" she called out after her little candle pokémon who was bounding along ahead, oblivious to the fact that she was leaving Lyra in the dust.
"Litwick?" She turned around and smiled as she saw Lyra running up to her. "Litwick!"

Lyra laughed and took the ghost candle in her arms. "You gotta wait up for me, okay little girl?"

"Litwick," Litwick's smile faded as she realized that she wasn't able bounce along carefree anymore, but her sadness quickly faded as she saw a familiar bunch of cotton float down from among the trees.

"Hey Whimsicott!" Lyra called out. She never had actually caught Whimsicott. He didn't really like going into a pokéball, and he followed Lyra's every command, so they was good enough for her. Her parents kept saying that she should formally catch it so that she could have it anywhere she needed, but they didn't understand that Whimsicott followed her everywhere she went. He normally slept in the treetops, since that was his natural habitat, but whenever Lyra went outside and called his name, he came floating down to her.

When Lyra reached the Pokémon Lab, she realized that a small boy was standing on the deck above the lab. He was under supervision of an older woman with brown hair that was pulled back into a bun. She was sipping a cup of something steaming and her eyes were visibly bleary. When she saw Lyra, she smiled and waved.

"Hello Lyra! How are you? Are you here to get your starter?" This woman was Professor Elm's wife, and she was much loved throughout New Bark Town.

Lyra smiled and waved back, releasing Litwick out to bob along happily again. Whimsicott floated up and landed next to the little boy, Elm's grandson.

When the child saw the big fluffy pokémon, he shrieked with amusement and gave him a huge hug.

"Whimsicott!" Whimsicott cried, his eyes lighting up with happiness.

Lyra smiled at the joy her pokémon was giving to the young child. "Hey Whimsicott! We have to go inside now!" she called out, hating to spoil the little kid's fun.

The fluff ball smiled and floated down to rest on Lyra's head. She had had him tested too, and even though he was Bashful and not Jolly, the pokémon was clearly always very jovial.

She pulled open the clean orange-and-blue doors and walked inside the messy lab.

Most of the mess came from open books and scattered papers, as well as multiple tablets that were hooked up to specific pokémon and displayed information on said pokémon on the glowing screens.

Professor Elm was busy at the back of the small, open, one-roomed lab doing some sort of chemical testing with graduated cylinders.

One of his assistants was typing rapidly away at a computer screen, while the other was scribbling notes in a notebook.

Lyra stepped around a peninsula and started toward the back of the laboratory. There were various small machines resting on the floor. Some of them had been pushed under tables or in cabinets, but there were others that were forced to be in the way, simply because there wasn't room for their storage.

When Lyra reached the back of the laboratory, right behind Professor Elm, she cleared her throat and picked up Litwick from where she had been floating beside her, popping the candle on her head.

The pokémon professor turned around at the noise.

"Oh! Lyra! Oh, that's right, Lyra was coming today. Stupid, stupid, stupid, you don't even have the pokéballs ready. Oh, Elm, you really are getting too old for this, aren't you?" the professor muttered to himself as he walked over to the peninsula Lyra had walked around. He typed something on a tablet screen implanted on the wall near the peninsula, and picked up the pile of papers and books in one fell swoop, placing them all on an already disheveled looking desk that looked like it was from fifty years ago.
The section of wall that the peninsula was attached to popped open, and a tray slid out on a track. On the tray were three pokéballs.

"I'm sure you know how this works. Here, I'll release them for you," Elm said, pressing the center button on each ball.

Three flashes of white light later, three pokémon sat in a doggy pile on the tray.

Lyra inspected them. The one on the bottom was a cyndaquil, the one in the middle a chikorita, and the one on top being a totadile.

The cyndaquil squeaked in surprise and the fire glans on its back burst into flame for a second. The chikorita in the middle squealed in hurt as the fire licked its body. It reared up, throwing the totadile on top off of the peninsula.

"Oh dear, you've done it again Cyndaquil. Come now, you must control your flame!" Professor Elm scolded as he picked the totadile off of the floor.
Cyndaquil squeaked in shame and hung it's head.

Lyra immediately knew she wanted it. It was so energetic and happy, but so shy at the same time. Originally, Lyra though she was going to pick Chikorita, but she just couldn't help fawning over the cute and energetic cyndaquil.

"I want Cyndaquil," she announced to Professor Elm.

He almost fell over. "What?!" He exclaimed. "That's my most clumsy and dunce-headed pokémon I've ever met! Why would you possibly want Cyndaquil?!"

Lyra smiled and picked up the cute little fire mouse. "Oh, stop it Professor Elm, you're hurting his feelings. You're just the cutest little thing, aren't you?! Oh, I can't wait to go on a journey with you!"

Apparently, Cyndaquil couldn't wait either, and his back burst into flame as he excitedly squealed for joy. Totadile, who had walked onto a case near the peninsula, was right behind Cyndaquil when his back burst into flame.

Totadile screamed and slipped on the glass case. He tripped backwards and his spikes wedged into the glass, shattering it.

"Oh now look what you've done Totadile, and all because of Cyndaquil's flame, too!" Professor Elm walked over to the case, a display of all of the different kinds of
evolutionary stones, and plopped Totadile back onto the peninsula. Litwick floated down and landed on the display, giggling jovially at the scene that was unfolding.
Cyndaquil looked like it might burst into tears, and buried it's head into Lyra's shoulder.

"Oh, baby don't cry! It's not your fault! Oh, honey it's okay!" Lyra comforted her new pokémon as Professor Elm shooed Litwick off of the display.
"Lyra, I think you'd better leave before anything else happens. You know everything about starting your journey already, so I'll just give you your pokédex and your pokéballs and you can be on your way."

The Professor walked back to his desk and opened the drawer. Inside, he pulled out a new pokédex and five pokéballs.

"Here you are Lyra. I hope you have a wonderful journey, and be sure to check in with me every once and a while. Good luck!"

And with that, he politely steered Lyra out of his Pokémon Lab, and shut the door behind her.

Lyra sniffed and looked up at the cloud-streaked sky. The cirrus were dominating today, and the sun filtered through the white wisps. Lyra smiled down at Cyndaquil, and then reached up to pet Whimsicott.

"Are you guys ready to go on an adventure? We have a new addition to our team. Meet Cyndaquil. Say hello guys!"

Whimsicott drifted down and came to rest on Cyndaquil's head. Litwick bounced down to rest right in front of Cyndaquil.

Cyndaquil sneezed onto the flame that was on Litwick's head. He immediately hung his head in shame.

"Hey! It's okay little guy! You didn't do anything wrong! Here, let's check you out." Lyra pulled the pokédex that Professor Elm gave her out of her pocket and scanned Cyndaquil with it.

Cyndaquil, the fire mouse pokémon
Nature: Timid
Characteristic: Often lost in thought

Lyra smiled. Of course it was a Timid cyndaquil. Already it was shying away from the pokédex, unsure of what it was.

Lyra smiled and pocketed the device. Putting Cyndaquil down on dirt path, Lyra wiped her brow and looked around the spread out, rural village. New Bark Town was primarily a wind farm, and produced half of the energy used in the Johto region. It truly was a spectacle to behold. There was only a few houses, no Pokémon Center and no Pokémart.

That was fine by Lyra, and it was fine by everyone else in the town. New Bark was well known across the region, albeit known from a distance. Everyone had heard of New Bark, but not many people lived there. People occasionally took vacations to the tiny town, normally as a honeymoon or a getaway from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Lyra liked to walk the forest paths or run along the fields where the wind mills sat. Sometimes, she would even go along the lake shore, gazing at the tiny landmass in the distance, hoping, praying that one day she would be able to go there, to leave New Bark and go on a journey of her own.

Now that dream was finally coming true.

She started down the path that led to Cherrygrove City. She couldn't wait to start challenging the gyms and maybe even try her hand at a contest or two.

As she walked between the trees, sunlight dappling the bright earth before her, she noticed a shadow in between the trees. It was staring straight at her.

"Hello?" she asked, peering closer at the shadow.

The person, whoever they were, turned, and walked away through the tree trunks, towards New Bark.

Lyra stared after him, wondering who exactly it was.

It wasn't of much concern, however, and it quickly slipped her mind as she continued on her way, breathing the beautifully sweet air, and tasting the sweet aroma of the forest on her lips.

Lyra opened her eyes and sighed in content. She was on a journey. She was free.


Wow. Okay. That was really fun to write and revise. Thank you for reading this and giving it a try. Johto is my absolute favorite region ever, so I'm really excited to finally publish the story that I have been planning, writing, and revising for weeks. If you haven't read any of my stories before, hello, I'm Cole Escapade! I downloaded a new writing app, so I've been writing a lot on there, and then transferring it to the computer. It makes my life a whole lot easier, and it means that you guys will get more frequent updates!

For those of you reading The Snowpoint Deduction: that is going to take backseat to this. I will still update it occasionally, even though I know I said I would revise it. I thought about it, and I would actually like to finish the story before I revise it.

But Tasting the Earth will be very different from any other project I've attempted. For one, it will have two perspectives. Second, the chapters will all be around three thousand words, much longer than The Snowpoint Deduction.

So please enjoy and review, as well as spread the word. Sorry for the long author's note, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

-Cole Escapade